::''See also: [[Mississippi State Legislature]], [[Mississippi House of Representatives]], [[Mississippi State Senate]]''

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==Current officer==

==Current officer==

The 64th and current governor is [[Phil Bryant]], a [[Republican]] elected in 2011 and sworn in on January 10, 2012.<ref> [http://www.governorbryant.com/about-governor-bryant/ ''Governor Bryant,'' " About Governor Bryant," accessed September 17, 2013] </ref>

The 64th and current governor is [[Phil Bryant]], a [[Republican]] elected in 2011 and sworn in on January 10, 2012.<ref> [http://www.governorbryant.com/about-governor-bryant/ ''Governor Bryant,'' " About Governor Bryant," accessed September 17, 2013] </ref>

Qualifications

The term of office of the governor of Mississippi is four years. The fee for party candidates is $300 made payable to the appropriate state party executive committee. There is no fee for independent candidates but a total of 1,000 signatures must be submitted.

Additionally, a gubernatorial candidate must be:

at least 30 years old

a citizen of the United States 20 years

a resident of the state five years

Elections

Mississippi state government organizational chart

Mississippi belongs to the handful of states that hold off-year elections, that is, elections in off-numbered years that are neither Presidential nor midterm years. In Mississippi's case, elections are held in the year after a midterm and before a Presidential; thus, 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019 are all gubernatorial election years. Legally, the inauguration is always held the second Tuesday in January after an election. Thus, January 10, 2012 and January 12, 2016 are inaugural days.

If no candidate secures majorities of both the popular and electoral votes, under Article V, Section 141, the House of Representatives shall consider the two highest vote getters and vote, vive voce, to choose the governor. Such a vote shall be recorded in the journal.

Term limits

Any person elected to the office of Governor shall be eligible to succeed himself in office. However, no person shall be elected to the office of Governor more than twice, and no person who has held the office of Governor or has acted as Governor for more than two (2) years of a term to which another person was elected shall be elected to the office of Governor more than once.

Partisan composition

The chart below shows the partisan breakdown of Mississippi State Governors from 1992-2013.

Vacancies

In the event of a temporary vacancy in the governorship, due to illness, absence, or disability, the office shall first devolve to the Lieutenant Governor, followed by the President Pro Tem of the Senate and then the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Should all three of those officers be unable to discharge the office of the governor, the Mississippi Secretary of State shall convene a special session of the Senate wherein its members shall elect a new President Pro Tem who will be able to serve as Acting Governor.

Any individual acting as the governor receives her base compensation for her elected office plus the difference between that wage and the gubernatorial salary. Acting Governors of Mississippi have the full powers and emoluments of the office.

If there is a question of the governor's permanent disability or of whether a temporarily absent governor is fit to resume the office, then the Secretary of State shall request that the Mississippi Supreme Court investigate and decide the matter. Once delivered in writing to the Secretary of State, that opinion is "final and conclusive."

Duties

The governor serves as commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the state, and of the militia, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States, (§ 119), and sees that all laws are upheld and executed (§ 123).

The governor may convene the legislature whenever, in his judgment, the public interest requires it, according to the state constitution. However, during such meetings the governor has cannot consider or act upon subjects or matters other than those designated in the proclamation of the meeting, except impeachments and examination into the accounts of state officers. (§ 120)

The governor has the power to grant reprieves and pardons and to remit fines. His power does not extend to cases of treason or impeachment and must be exercised with the advice and consent of the Senate. (§ 124)

As a privilege of the office, the governor may keep and use the Great Seal of the State of Mississippi. (§ 126)

Other duties and privileges of the office include:

Requiring written information from any officer of an executive department of any aspect of his office (§ 121)

Periodically addressing the legislature on the state of the state and making recommendations (§ 122)

Suspending county level Treasurers and Tax Collectors who are suspected of defaulting for the length of the investigation (§ 125)

Making and sealing all commissions granted by the state of Mississippi (§ 127)

Divisions

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for information that describes the divisions (if any exist) of a state executive office. That information for the Governor of Mississippi has not yet been added. After extensive research we were unable to identify any relevant information on state official websites. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

History

Partisan balance 1992-2013

From 1992-2013, in Mississippi there were Democratic governors in office for four years while there were Republican governors in office for 18 years, including the last 10. Mississippi is one of eight states that were run by a Republican governor for more than 80 percent of the years between 1992-2013. Mississippi was under Republican trifectas for the last two years of the study period.

Across the country, there were 493 years of Democratic governors (44.82%) and 586 years of Republican governors (53.27%) from 1992-2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states had divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.

SQLI and partisanship

The chart below depicts the partisanship of the Mississippi state government and the state's SQLI ranking for the years studied. For the SQLI, the states were ranked from 1-50, with 1 being the best and 50 the worst. Mississippi has consistently ranked in the bottom-2 of the SQLI ranking regardless of a trifecta or a divided government. The state has been ranked in the last place for fifteen separate years and ranked 49th six separate years. Mississippi had two trifecta, both Democratic and Republican, between 2000 and 2004 and in 2012, respectively.

SQLI average with Democratic trifecta: 49.75

SQLI average with Republican trifecta: 50

SQLI average with divided government: 49.69

Chart displaying the partisanship of Mississippi government from 1992-2013 and the State Quality of Life Index (SQLI).

Historical officeholders

There have been 63 NAME OF OFFICE since 1817. Of the 63 officeholders, 5 were Republican, 52 were Democrat, 1 was Whig, 1 was Union-Democratic, 1 was Provisional, 1 was Military and 3 are unknown.[6]